Method and apparatus for establishing high-voltage electric circuits, comprising removable hand contact-making devices



July 14, 1925. 1,545,886

c'. DACHARY ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC CIRCUITS,

COMPRISING REMOVABLE HAND CONTACT MAKING DEVICES Filed Jan. 17, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4. V/Qa/iw" by k ,17 W

July 14, 1925. 1,545,886

C. DACHARY ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRIC CIRCUITS,

COMPRISING REMOVABLE HAND CONTACT MAKING DEVICES Filed Jan. 17, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 5

W av gt Patented July 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ESTABLISHING HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC CIRCUITS, V COMPRISING REMOVABLE HAND CONTACT-MAKING DEVICES.

Application filed January 17, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES DACHARY and LOUIS VIGUIER, citizens of the French Republic, residing at 7 Rue Berthe, Colombes, Seine, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in methods and apparatus for establishing high-voltage electric circuits, comprising removable hand contact-making devices, of which the following is a specification.

In a high-voltage circuit where it is sometimes required to connect a branch lead to the main circuit through the medium of a removable hand contact-member, the handling of the contact-plug may occasion accidents either because the workman who has to perform said handling happens to touch inadvertently the high-voltage contacts, or because the arc, which is inevitably generated on the interruption of the current, produces dangerous efi'ects.

Safety devices have already been proposed and employed for avoiding those accidents, but in general such' devices are complicated and bulky.

The present invention has for its object a method of establishing high-voltage circuits comprising removable, hand contactmembers which will allow of avoiding in a simple and sure manner the above mentioned accidents.

The method consists essentially in interposing in the high-voltage circuit an inter ruptor which will allow of cutting this circuit, and in establishing between the said interruptor and the contact-member, such a connection as will not allow any contact plug to be handled unless the interrupt-or has first been opened.

The invention relates further to various apparatus for carrying this method into practice.

In the following description themethod in question is assumed to be applied to the establishment of a high-voltage circuit extending through all the carriages of an electric railway train in succession, but it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to this application, and that the cablein all cases where removable handoperated coupling members are interposed in a high voltage circuit.

Serial No. 613,307.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagram designed to show a. practical embodiment of the improved method applied to an electric railway train.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of an engaging means for coupling members.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a different operative position of the parts.

Fig, 4 is a sectional view showing said engaging means.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a detail.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic showing of the end panel and coupling members.

Fig 7 1s a plan View of a modified construction corresponding to that of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a movable lid used in the invention.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a modified form of coupling member.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of the relative position of the coupling members for carriages without collapsible gangways.

Fig. 11 is a View similar to Fig. 10, but adapted for use with carriages having col lapsible gangways and- Fig. 12 is a plan View of a train includin carriages both with and without collapsible gangways.

The train is composed for instance of a tractor carriage A and trailer carriages D. The high-voltage current passes from one carriage to another through a couplin cable or train lead C (Fig. 4) terminating at each end in a hand-operated removable plug or removable coupling member N. Each of these removable coupling members is inserted in a fixed part M or fixed coupling member provided on one end face of the carriage, and to which there is terminally connected the circuit of the carriage in question.

The high-voltage circuit T, established according to the method hereinabove described, is made or opened by means of an interrup-tor I situated, for instance, in the tractor carriage. The interruptor I is arranged in such a manner that no coupling member N can be removed from the corresponding part M, or be fixed in the said part, unless the interrupter I is open. For this purpose, the interrupter I may be so ated removable coupling members n w ich are adapted to be fitted into the fixed coupling members m attached to the carriages (Figs. 2, 3 and 4).

When it is desired to apply the improved method, it is necessary that it shall not be possible to handle the coupling members N unless the circuit 25-12. has first been 0 ened. To obtain this result, it is suflicient or instance, to produce between the coupling members N and 12. an engagementsuch that the placing into position of a coupling member N shall necessarily precede the placing in position of the corresponding'coupling member n, and inversely, it shall not be ossible to remove a coupling member N 10111 a part M without having first removed its corresponding coupling member n from the corresponding part m.

It is possible to imagine a large number of ways of producing this engagement which will allow of solving the problem thus stated. One of these is illustrated by way of example in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

The fixed couphng members M and m are formed with notches L and l in which are adapted to engage bosses B and I) provided on the removable coupling members N and n. Further, the removable coupling member N is formed with a groove R at the base of the boss B and at right angles to the said boss. A shutter V, acted upon by a spring or counterweight covers, according to its position, one or other of the notches L and Z. The dimensions of the shutter V are such that the two notches can never be uncovered at one and the same time. The coupling member N alone has a groove R in which the shutter V can engage. It will therefore be readily understood that two removable coupling members can never be placed in position at haphazard, but that it is necessary that the coupling member N shall be placed in position before the coupling memer a. When .the two coupling members have been placed in position, the shutter V is engaged 1n the groove R and consequently it is impossible to remove the coupling mem ber N without having first removed the coupling member n.

The circuit t may utilize two line wires or on the contra a single line wire. In this latter case t e low-voltage generator has one of its terminals connected to earth,

and it is necessary to provide'on the last vehicle of the tram a device for earthing the end of the circuit.

This device may consist for instance of a blade U fixed inside the lid E covering the coupling members M and m.

When the lid is closed, the blade U comes into engagement with the jaw s of the fixed couphng member. It is therefore merely necessary to connect to earth the lid E of the last end fixed coupling member of the last vehicle of the train in order to earth one of the ends of the circuit t.

It is obvious that the hereinbefore described qllilgaging device between the coupling me ers N and 01. may be replaced by any other suitable engaging device without thereby departing from the nature of the invention.

In allthe foregoing, there has been no question of the construction to be given to the fixed coupling members on the end panels of the carriages.

In the carriages that are not provided with collapsible gangways, the fixed coupling members are provided one for each end panel, and are arranged symmetrically in relation to the axis of the carriage. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 6. It will be seen that the removable leads are in this case oblique relatively to the axis of the carriages. I

But when the carriages are provided with collapsible gangways this arrangement is no longer appllcable. In such a case according to this invention two couplin members V V are arranged on each en panel of the body of the carriage (Fig. 7). These coupling members are arranged symmetrically on either side of the collapsible gangways. The carriages are traversed by two conductors t connecting respectively *0, '0 0 v 'of the coupling members situated at the opposite ends of the carriage. In each carriage the conductor 5 is permanently connected to earth. The contacts '0 '0 or a, c of the fixed coupling members mounted on one and the same panel are connected two by two by conductors forming bridges I 1 z z- Each of the fixed coupling members is further provided with a movable lid E E illustrated diagrammatically in section (Fig. 8).v This lid contains an insulated conductor a: terminating in two contactplugs y, g which are adapted to fit into the contacts 'v, '0 or v '0 of the coupling members V V when the lid is closed. The mounting is effected as indicated in Figure 10. The leads 0 connect alternately two coupling members V then two coupling members V and so on, until the last carriage which is coupled up in a sense contrary to the preceding ones so that the last fixed coupling member V of the last carriages but one, is connected to the fixed coupling member V of the last carriage.

The lids are kept closed upon the fixed coupling members into which no removable coupling member can enter. The direction of flow of the low-voltage current as indicated by arrows in Fig. 7

Fig. 9 illustrates by way of example a low-voltage removable coupling member n which can fit carriages having collapsible gangways as well as carriages without collapsible gangways. The contact-plug Y serves to transmit low voltage current acting upon the interruptor I. The contactplug F serves to transmit another low-voltage current serving for instance to light the train. .The corresponding fixed coupling members are shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Fig. 10 illustrates-the general arrangement of the coupling members M and m in the case of a carriage without collapsible gangways.

Fig. 11 shows the same general arrangement in the case of a carriage having collapsible gangways. In Fig. 10, F is the contact into which enters the contact-plug F; and o is the contact corresponding to the contact-plug Y. Y

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 11, the contact-plug Y enters thecontact-plug V and the circuit p, terminates at the contact 11 whereas the contact F always receives the contactplug F.

By employing leads provided at their ends with coupling members designed as hereinbefore described it is possible to connect together, with the same type of leads,

carriages with or without collapsible gangways, and it is possible, without inconvenience to employ these two types of car riages in the composition of the same train as shown in Figure 15.

What we claim is 1. Apparatus for establishing a high tension circuit, and more particularly a circuit connecting the cars of a train, comprising, a high tension circuit, an interrupter in the high tension circuit, an electro-magnet tending to close the interrupter, a spring tending to open the interrupter, a low tension circuit controlling the electromagnet, removabl contact makers in the high tension circuit, safety devices controlling the low tension circuit and a connection between each contact maker and a safety device, each connection preventing removal of a contact maker prior to actuating the corresponding safety device, to open the low tension circuit, and necessitating insertion of a contact maker prior to actuating the corresponding safety device to close the low tension circuit, said low tension circuit being in parallel with the said high tension circuit, each said safety device having a contact adjacent the corresponding contact maker, each said connection including a movable shutter, a lug and a notch on each contact maker, and a lug on each safety device, the vshutter being engageable in the notch, and positionable to prevent movement either of the contact maker lug, or the' safety device lug.

.2. Apparatus for establishing a high tension circuit, and more particularly a circuit connecting the cars of a train, comprising, a high tension circuit, an interrupter in the high tension circuit, an electro-magnet tending to close the interrupter, a spring safety device, to open the low tension circuit, and necessitating insertion of a contact maker prior to actuating the corresponding safety device to close the low tension circuit, said low tension circuit being in parallel with the said high tension circuit, each said safety device having a contact adjacent the corresponding contact maker, each said connection including a movable shutter, a

lug and a notch on each contact maker, and a lug on each safety device, the shutter being engageable in the notch, and position able to prevent movement either of the contact maker lug, or the safety device lug, said,

safety devices having control means for a plurality of circuits;

3. Apparatus for establishing a high tension circuit, and more particularly a circuit connecting the cars of a train, comprising, a high tension circuit, an interrupter in the high tension circuit, an electro-magnet tending to close the interrupter, a spring tending to open the interrupter, a low tension circuit controlling the electro-ma et, removable contact makers in the big tension circuit, safety devices controlling the low tension circuit and a connection between each contact maker and a safety device, each connection preventing removal of a contact maker prior to actuating the corresponding safety device, t0 open the low tension circuit, and necessitating insertion of a contact maker prior to actuating the corresponding safety device to close the low tension circuit, a said safety device on each car, a grounded lid on the safety device on the last car of the train, a blade on the inner side of the lid, a contact arm on each safety device, the blade and arm contacting when the lid is closed.

In-testimony. whereof, we have signedour names to this specification. A

CHARLES DACHARY, LOUIS VIGUIER. 

